Negative Effects Of Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy is a growing concern for many older adults and their families. According to Ajuja & Hasan (2011) who reported to ABC News described a 91 year old male who suffers from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, and a underactive thyroid. While Merel visits his regular doctor for his underactive thyroid, he was already consuming ten pills everyday. Merel is unaware of what drug he is taking to help him with what diagnosis he is suffering from. His wife claims he is taking too many pills, and others agree. (Ahuja, G., & Hasan, L., 2011). As for someone else, Joy Rode is taking eight prescriptions a day and feels even worse than what she was before. Rode is diagnosed with chronic asthma, heart failure, and recently found a mass on her breast which she has been taking a medication to prevent growth. Rode feels that doctors need to compare notes to help her feel better without all the medicine. While these are just a couple of examples of polypharmacy, this problem continues to grow as more diseases and illnesses occur.

Polypharmacy Polypharmacy is defined as the administration of many drugs at the same time or the administration of excessive number of drugs (Dagli, R. J., & Sharma, A., 2014). As the population

Older adults are more susceptible to this problem due to how sensitive their immune systems are. Having the right tools and informations are key to preventing this from happening to a loved one. With knowledge of negative consequences such as toxicity, nutrition, mental status, and much more can prevent polypharmacy. Too many medication and the effect on the body are reasons that polypharmacy is a major epidemic happening in our society. Lastly, most people want to know how it can be prevented. Being informed is the first major key. Then having family and nurses to help monitor the medication taken can help prevent polypharmacy. Overall, polypharmacy can be prevented one pill at a